Collection-safe.



G. L. MAW.

COLLECTION SAFE.

APPLICATION rum) MAY 1a. 1908.

944,198. Patented Dec.21,1909.

' 8 SHEETS-433E135? 1.

Wit "anon G. L. MAW.

COLLECTION SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1a. 1908.

Patented Dec. 21, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. L. MAW. COLLECTION SAFE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 18. 1908. 944, 1 98. IPatented Dec. 21, 1909.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNIED STATES GEORGE LAWRENCE MAW, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

COLLECTION-SAFE.

Application filed May 18,

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. MAW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Collection-Safe, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to collection safes for use upon pay-asyou-entercars and for similar purposes.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter designed to be placed at the point of entrance to a car orother structure and having means whereby coins, tickets, or the like canbe readily dropped thereinto and after once being deposited can not beremoved except by a duly authorized person.

Another object is to provide means whereby the coin or ticket upon beingdeposited can be conveniently viewed by the conductor or other attendantto determine whether or not the same is of proper value.

Another object is to provide means operated by the conductor forshifting the coin or ticket from the point where it is deposited by thepassenger so that it will drop into a receiving box provided therefor.

Another obj eet is to provide means whereby the receiving box can onlybe removed from the apparatus after the same has been closed and locked.

l/Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction and combinations of parts which will behereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown the preferred form of theinvention.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through thecollection safe. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section, one half ofsaid figure being taken on the line AB, and the other half upon the lineAC, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the top portion ofthe safe, portions of the apparatus being broken away. Fig. 4: is a sideelevation of one of the locking pawls and the rack engaged thereby. Fig.5v is a perspective view of a portion of the bottom slide of theintermediate compartment and one of its springs.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates themetal frame of the body or housing of the device, said frame beingprovided with a box-like metal cover- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1909.

1908. Serial No. 433,544.

1 ing 2 having brackets 3 thereon provided with tongues 4 designed todetachably engage supporting brackets 5 secured to a suitable supportingstructure.

Arranged within the body is a combined guide and holding frame 6 inwhich is mounted a money box 7 preferably formed of metal and which isremovable from said frame 1 in an upward direction. This money box 7 hasguide cleats 8 arranged upon the top thereof at opposite .sides of theinlet opening 9 and these cleats have their inner or adjoining facesgrooved longitudinally as shown at 10 to receive a slidable closure 11.A spring lock 12 of any preferred construction is carried by thisclosure so that when the closure is drawn shut the lock will operate toautomatically secure the same in closed position. A lug or car 13 isarranged upon the closure 11 for the pur- I pose hereinafter set forth,and a notch 14 is also formed in the upper face of the closure.

The top of the body is closed by means of a movable top section 15having a handle 16 at its front end whereby it can be drawnlongitudinally along the upper portions of the sides of the frame, saidportions projecting above the cover 2 as indicated in Fig. 2. This topsection has an opening 17 in the top thereof surrounded by a hopper 18which is secured to the top section 15 and extends upwardly therefrom.This hopper has a reduced inlet opening 19 at the upper end thereof andextending inwardly from opposite walls of the hopper are upper and lowerfixed battle plates 20 and upper and lower hingedly mounted battleplates 21. These that should the hopper be inverted the plates 21 willswing against the plates 20 and thus prevent any of the contents of thesafe from passing outward through the inlet opening. Weights 22 aresecured to the movable baffie plates to facilitate their operation whenthe device is inverted. Stops 23 are arranged beneath the baflles 21 forholding them normally at predetermined angles. Opposite walls of thehopper 18 are provided below the lower bafile plates with diaphanousplates 24 whereby the contents of the lower portion of the hopper can bereadily viewed by the attendant.

Secured within the movable top portion 15 and directly below the opening17 is a trough-like receiver 25 having walls at three hingedly mountedplates are so positioned sides thereof extending upwardly to the.

intermediate compartment 29 is a plate 30 having an inclined flange 31at one edge thereof and positioned between the side walls of compartment29, said flange being held normally pressed against the open end of thereceiver 25 by means of springs 32- fastened at opposite ends to ears 33extending downwardly from the top section 15, and to cars 34 extendingfrom the plate 30. Said flange when in its normal position constitutes aclosure for the open end of the receiver 25, thus shutting offcommunication between said receiver and the intermediate compartment 29.

Brackets 39 extend from relatively fixed parts of the movable topsection 15 and additional brackets 39 extend from the partition 28;these brackets support a shaft 40 provided adjacent its center with ahooked nger 41 normally held in engagement withthe lug 13 by means of aspring 42 which is secured at its ends to the finger 41 and to an ear 43extending from the partition 28. A bracket 44 is also carried bypartition 28 and has a spring pressed locking bolt 45 therein normallybearing on the closure 11 and designed, when the closure is open, to

be seated in the notch or recess 14 as shown in Fig. 1.

Slidably mounted within the movable top portion 15 and above the frontend wall of the receiver 25 is a push plate 46 having an inclined flange47 at one edge and disposed within the receiver 25, the lower edge ofsaid flange being toothed or serrated soas to fit snugly upon thelongitudinally grooved bottom of the receiver 25. These teeth orserrations have been indicated at 48 in Fig. .3. Side frames 49 aresecured to the side or longitudinal edges of the plate 46 and extend atopposite sides of and below the receiver 25, each'side frame having anarm 50 extending rearwardly and normally bearing against one of the ears34 of the plate 30. Longitudinally slotted lower arms 51 also extendrearwardly from these side frames and moving within the slots are ears52 extending laterally from the sides of a bottom plate 53 which ismounted in grooves 54 in the side walls of thecompartment 29; Springs 55are fastened to the cars 52 and also to the sides of the compartment 29and these springs serve to automatically move the plate 53 to closedposition when the plate 46 and the side arms 49 are moved rearwardly inthe manner hereinafter set forth. Suitably supported within the movabletop portion 15 and at the sides of the sliding members 46 and 49 areguide cleats 56 arranged in the path of tripping fingers 57 which aresecured to the shaft 40. A stop plate or buffer 58 is secured to therear portion of the covering 2 and in'the path of the hooked finger 41,and constitutes means for positively swinging said finger downwardlywhen the top portion 15' is slid into'normal or closed position. A plate59 is hingedly connected to the rear wall of i the body of the deviceand extends under the movable top portion 15, said plate 59 beingutilized for the purpose hereinafter set forth. A rack 35 is secured tothe lower surface of the plate 59- and is designed to be engaged by apawl 36 having an integral weighted arm 37 normally supported by meansof a stop lug 38 so as to maintain the pawl 36 normally out ofengagement with the-rack bar thereabove. The pawl is designed, shouldthe device be inverted or upset, to automatically move into engagementwith the rack and thus lock the movable top portion 15 against lonitudinal movement relative to the plate 59.

A bell crank lever 60 is mounted within the body portion of therdeviceand has a forked end 61' slotted longitudinally as at 62 to movablyengage ears 63 extending downwardly from the slidable frame formed bythe members 49 and the plate 46. The other end of the bell crank leverhas a rod 64 extending downwardly therefrom and into a tubular pedestal65 extending clownward from the body portion of the device and havingits lower end mounted within a suitable fixed structure such as thefloor of a car. The lower portion of this pedestal is slottedlongitudinally as indicated at 66 to receive a treadle or foot plate 67extending from a slide 68 mounted within the pedestal. This slide ispivotally connected to the rod 64 and a spring 69 is arranged within thepedestal and designed to yieldingly support the rod 64 and the footplate.

Rack bars 69 are secured to the movable top portion 15 and movetherewith and arranged below each of these rack bars is a pawl 70 havinga weighted arm 71 which serves to hold the pawl normally out ofengagement with the rack thereabove. If, however, the apparatus shouldbe upset or inverted in any other way these paw-ls will operate toautomatically lock the slide 49 manner of a drawer and as this forwardmovement continues the finger 41 will draw the slidable closure 11 intoposition over the top of the money box 7, whereupon said closure will beautomatically fastened by the lock 12. As soon as this fasteningoperation occurs the top of the movable section 15 passes off of theguard plate 59 and said plate can be swung upward on itshinge 59 so thataccess can thus be readily had to the mechanism in the rear portion ofthe top. As soon as the closure has been locked by the outward movementof the top section 15 the fingers 57 will ride onto the cleats 56 so asto cause finger 41 to swing outward out of engagement with the lug 13.The operator can then reach into the body portion of the device and liftthe money box therefrom. Inasmuch, however, as the closure of this boxis securely locked it will be apparent that the operator can not obtainaccess to the interior of the box unless provided with the necessary keyor combination.

WVhen it is desired to reset the apparatus an empty box with anelongated closure is placed in the body portion and the plate 59 isswung into a horizontal position. The top portion 15 is then slidbackward carrying the hopper 18 therewith and the partition 28 willstrike against the closure 11 and push it backward. Shortly after thisbackward movement of the parts begins the fingers 57 leave the cleats 56and the finger 41 is thus swung downward by spring 42 into position backof the lug 13. If for any reason the spring should not properly work theplate 58 will operate to positively force the finger 41 downwardly. Itis of course to be understood that when the top portion 15 is movingforward or backward as during the foregoing operations the forked end ofthe bell crank lever 60 will become disengaged from or engaged with theears on the slid ble members 49. After the movable top portion has beenpushed backward as far as it will go the apparatus is in condition foruse, all of the parts being positioned as indicated in Fig. 1.

lVhen a coin or ticket is deposited in the inlet opening 19 of thehopper it will fall downward by gravity onto the various baffle platesand will finally drop onto the grooved bottom of the receiver 25. Theattendant, by glancing through either of the plates 24 can quicklydetermine whether or not a coin or ticket of the proper value has beendeposited, and if the same is satisfactory the foot plate 67 isdepressed, thus pulling on the bell crank lever 60 and cansing theforked end thereof to shift the slidable members 49 longitudinallywithin the top portion 15. The arms 50 will thus abut against the ears34 and push the plate 30 rearwardly against the stress of its springs33, thus forcing the flange 31 away from the outlet end of the receiver25. At the same time the tensioned springs 55 will operate to slide thebottom plate 53 so as to close the bottom of compartment 29, this beingpermissible in view of the fact that the arm 50 is slotted and moveswith the members 49. During the foregoing operation the flange 47 of thepush plate 46 slides over the bottom of the receiver 25 and pushes thecoin or ticket into the compartment 29 onto the bottom plate 53. As soonas this operation has been effected the attendant releases the plate 67whereupon the tensioned spring 69 will return all of the parts to theirinitial positions. In other words, the flange 31 will close the open endof the receiver 25 and the plate 53 will be withdrawn from under thecompartment 29. T16 return of the plate 30 is effected by the springs32. It will be apparent that when the bottom of the intermediatecompartment 29 is open, the coin or ticket therein will drop through theopen top of the box 7 and into said box. Should the safe be upset whilethe parts are in this position the pawls 36 and 70 will operate toautomatically lock the plates 30 and 46 so that there will be no dangerof any of the working parts operating so as to release the contents ofthe box 7.

When it is desired to remove the box 7 and its contents the operationheretofore described is repeated, The bolt 45 is utilized as anauxiliary means for shifting the closure 11 if for any reason the finger41 should not properly engage the ear 13.

It is of course to be understood that any suitable lock may be providedfor securing the movable top portion 15 in normal position. The key orcombination of this look will be in the possession of the attendant.

It will be obvious that a device of this character constitutes aneflicient means for receiving fares, etc., and the same is particularlydesirable in view of the fact that although the attendant can remove thefilled money boxes and replace them with empty ones he can not open theboxes after they have once been placed in the machine.

Importance is attached to the provision of the grooves 26 in the bottomof the re ceiver 25 and the toothed flange 47 cotiperating therewithbecause it thus becomes impossible for the pushing flange 47 to rideover a ticket or coin deposited within the receiver.

Vhat is claimed is:

1. A collection safe comprising a relatively fixed housing, a slidableclosure movably mounted thereon, a money box within the housing, aclosure therefor, said closures being movable in parallel planes, andmeans operated by the opening of the housing and separate from saidclosure for automatically closing and locking the money box.

2. A collection safe comprisingarelatively fixed housing, a slidableclosure therefor, a money box removably mounted within the housing andseparate from said; closure, and means operated by the opening of theclosure for closing and locking the money box.

3. A collection safe comprising a relatively fixed housing, a slidableclosure therefor, a money box removably mounted within the housing andseparate from the closure, a closure operated by the opening of thefirst mentioned closure for closing and locking the money box, and meansfor preventing access to the money box prior to the closing thereof. Y

4. A collection safe comprising a relatively fixed housing, a slidableclosure therefor having an inlet opening, said closure constituting thetop of the housing, a money box removably mounted within the housing andbelow the inlet, a slidable closure therefor, the closure being movablealong parallel lines, means operated by the opening of the housing forclosing and automatically locking the closure of the money box, andmeans for preventing access to the money box prior to the locking of itsclosure.

5. A collection safe comprising a relatively fixed housing, a money box.removably mounted therein, a slidable closure for the housing andconstituting the top of the housing, means carried by the closure fordirecting an object through the closure and into the money box, and aslidable closure operated by the movement of the first mentioned closurefor closing and locking the money box, the two closures being movablealong straight parallel lines.

6. A collection safe comprising a relatively fixed housing, av slidableclosure therefor and constituting the top of the housing, said closurehaving an inlet opening therein, a money box removably mounted withinthe housing and below said opening, a slidable closure for the moneybox, mechanism operated by the opening of the housing closure forclosing the closure of the money box, and means for automaticallyreleasing said mechanism from'the closure of the money box at apredetermined point during the movement of the parts.

7. A collection safe comprising a housing, a slidable closure therefor,a money box, a slidable closure thereon, means for automatically lockingsaid closure in closed position, a finger carried by the closure of thehousing and normally engaging the closure of the money box, saidengaging means operating to shift the closure'of the money box intoclosed position during'the opening of the housing, and means fordisengaging the finger from the closure engaged thereby at apredetermined point during the movement of the parts.

8. A collection safe comprising a housing,

a money box therein, a closure for the money box, means forautomatically locking the closure when moved to one position, ashiftable closure engaging finger movably mounted relatively to thehousing, a tripping finmeans for automatically locking the closure whenshut, means movable relatively to the housing for detachably engagingand actuating said closure, a tripping finger movable with said means,and means in the path of the finger for actuating the same to releasethe closuresimultaneously with the locking thereof.

10. A collection safe comprisinga housing, a money box therein, aslidable closure for the money box, means for automatically locking saidclosure when. shut, a closure engaging finger shiftable relatively tothe housing, yieldable means for holding said finger normally inengagement with the closure, a tripping device movable with said finger,and means in the path of said device for actuating the same to disengagethe finger from the closure.

11. A collection safe comprising a housing, a money box therein, aslidable closure upon the money box, means for automatically lockingsaid closure when shut, a slidable top portion upon the housing spring.controlled closure engaging. means carried by said portion, and meansfor automatically disengaging said means from the closure when theclosure is shut.

12. A collection safe comprising a .housing, a money box therein, aslidable closure upon the money box, means for automatically locking theclosure when shut, a slidable top' portion upon the housing, springcontrolled means carried thereby for engaging and shutting the closure,a tripping device carried by said means, fixed means in the path of saiddevice for releasing the closure when shut.

13. A collection safe comprising ahousing, a money box therein, aclosure upon the money box, means for automatically locking the closurewhen shut, a movable top portion upon thehousing, means carried there- Iby for engaging and shutting the closure,

and means for disengaging the closure from its shutting means whenlocked.

14:. A collection safe comprising ahousing, a money box movably mountedtherein, a closure upon the money box, means for automatically lockingthe closure when shut, a top portion upon the housing movable apredetermined distance to expose and per- 15 the locking of the closure.

mit the removal of the money box, and means operated by the movement ofsaid portion to such position to shut the closure.

15. A collection safe comprising a housing, a money box removablymounted therein, a closure therefor, means for automatic ally lockingthe closure when shut, a top portion upon the housing disposed to bemoved into position to expose and permit the removal of the money box,spring controlled means carried by said movable portion for engaging andshutting the closure, and means hingedly connected to the housing forguarding the money box prior to 16. A collection safe comprising a hous-1 ing, a movable top portion thereon, a money boX Within the housing, aclosure therefor, said movable top portion being shiftable against theclosure to open the same, means carried by the movable portion forengaging the closure to shut the same, When said portion is moved in onedirection, and means for automatically locking the closure when shut.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

GEORGE LAWRENCE MAW. lVitnesses:

ALFRED C. MAW, JOHN J. COTTRILL.

